


no need to say goodbye

by jamo



Category: Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Gen, I just wanted more gilbert and bash scenes ok, I just wanted to write about ms stacey shipping shirbert, I mean maybe a bit but mainly just wholesome, Post S2, also Ruby Diana and Anne just having fun and being friends, anne still being in denial, don't come to this fanfic for angst, everyone except gilbert knowing he is whipped, gilbert is a whipped boy, shirbert stewing in denial, this is a coping mechanism for me needing season 3
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2018-08-08
Packaged: 2019-06-21 05:22:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15550539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jamo/pseuds/jamo
Summary: A collection of scenes I imagine would take place post season 2, including Bash and Mary teasing Gilbert about lady troubles, Ms Stacey secretly shipping shirbert, the story club ft. Ruby's stories about her and Gilbert, with a commentary by Anne and Diana and certain people encountering Spin the Bottle. Not really a plot line :)





	1. In which Gilbert is whipped but does not Acknowledge it

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic, so please bear with me, and please leave any advice, feedback or criticisms you may have! This is mainly just disorganised writings on random scenes I imagine would happen after season 2, so keep in mind there is no real plot line. :) hope you enjoy!
> 
> (also title is from regina spektor's 'the call' which I absolutely love and think suits Anne and Gilbert so much.)

Bash was sitting resting his feet at the dining table when the door opened, Gilbert stumbling in from a white Avonlea, stomping snow off his boots and brushing it from his dark coat.

‘Eh!’ exclaimed Bash, ‘Close the door will ya, Blythe, that wind is threatenin’ to blow the house down!’

Gilbert grinned at his friend and shut the door. ‘Just in time for dinner I hope?’ he queried.

‘Almost, Mary’s makin’ it right now; I told her you could cook but she insisted - said any boy who’s favorite spice is salt better stay away from the kitchen,’ Bash said jokingly as Gilbert sat beside him, placing his school books on the table and shaking his head with a small chuckle. He had long before grown used to his friend’s blunt remarks and teasing.

‘So, how was school?’

‘Pretty usual - Ms Stacey taught us more about electricity and gave us reviews of how we’re going at school. I’m currently topping the class in Math, Science, and tying for spelling. I’m second for English and History though, courtesy of Anne,’ he said, rushing through the last part, having a feeling that he knew what would ensue. He was not far wrong. Bash raised his eyebrows, ‘Huh, smart and pretty... all I’m wonderin’ is why you haven’t made a move!’

‘I told you already, Bash, we’re just friends, academic rivals if you will, that’s all there is to it.’

Bash didn’t seem to listen as he went on, ‘I tell you what, the way kids these days be flirtin’ - havin’ to be all competitive at equations and essays; back in the good ol’ days you hand her an apple and you’re in love!’

Gilbert grimaced slightly at the second phrase - ‘Mm,’ he mused, before continuing wryly, ‘Apples don’t quite bring back good memories for me, Bash.’

‘O ho, am I in for another story of failed romantic acts of kindness?’

Gilbert raised his eyebrows and scratched the nape of his neck, remembering back to that drab day outside the schoolhouse. ‘Perhaps that isn’t the most accurate term for it bu-’

‘Blythe, just admit it already-’

‘Sebastian, what are you torturing the poor boy over now?’ Mary bustled into the small dining room. The smell of dinner and the sudden soft expression on Bash’s face brough a warm smile to Gilbert’s face. He was still getting used to having family - _(his own family!)_ \- around him in the house again. Even before his father’s death the house had seemed to be sleeping in the shadows of silence and sorrow, drifting into unconsciousness, almost holding its breath and waiting for John to breathe his last. Bash and Mary had brought so much - so much _life_ back to the place.

Sebastian grinned mischievously at Mary saying offhandedly, ‘Oh not torturin’, Gilbert here is just experiencing lady troubles, not being as tactful as myself in that area.’

‘Lady troubles, eh?’ she said, raising a single eyebrow at Gilbert who looked away feeling awkward. _Get yourself together, Gilbert,_ he scolded himself. _There’s no reason for you to feel awkward anyways, you don’t have lady troubles, Bash is just seeing things between you and Anne which simply aren’t there._

He looked back at Mary, who seemed to be expecting him to start pouring out his heart to them at the dinner table, ‘Not lady troubles, as Bash here would have you believe - he seems to be a touch delusional when it comes to the topic of my _friends_ ,’ he stressed the word, giving Bash a meaningful look, though his friend evidently did not get the message, muttering just loudly enough for him and Mary to hear, ‘Not friends, _friend_ , and he knows exactly which one.’ Gilbert persevered on despite the interruption, ‘But trust me, the feelings are strictly platonic. Mutually so, in fact.’

‘By that he means that he’s dead gone over her and doesn’t know what to do with all his feelings and is scared stiff she doesn’t feel the same,’ said Bash helpfully, ever ready to be Gilbert’s faithful (and one hundred percent accurate) interpreter.

Gilbert stood up and began helping Mary set the table, taking out plates and cutlery for the trio as Mary inspected his reaction to Bash’s direct analysis. She noted, no without mild amusement, a subtle pink spreading across his usually pale cheeks. (Gilbert noticed this too, but all the confounded blood rushing to his cheeks would not _stop_ rushing despite all his inner self-reproachfulness.)

‘And which friend might this be?’

‘Anne,’ inserted Bash before Gilbert could give any more evasive replies.

Mary very obviously looked not-at-Gilbert as she spooned out curry for herself and Bash and him and nonchalantly asked, ‘And might this be the Anne who’s the smartest girl in the class - the one who rivals you in the spelling bees, claimed your top of the class in English and has an unrivalled “scope for the imagination”?’

Gilbert felt himself colouring once again, recognising the phrases as things he had said to Bash or mentioned at meals. He fumbled for words to say - Bash might’ve approached the “lady troubles” with a delicate kitchen knife for all he cared compared to Mary, who seemed to come straight at it with a well aimed battle axe. These were deadly blows. Mary’s silence waited expectantly for an answer.

Bash seemed to be chuckling to himself as Gilbert eventually replied, ‘Uh yes - that would be the one.’ _Dammit, why did he sound so nervous - it wasn’t like giving someone an occasional compliment meant you were hopelessly in love._

Mary and Bash gave him some grace, and the conversation moved to on as they ate Mary’s curry, the winter wind howling outside the house.

‘Well, thank you for the delicious meal,’ he nodded gratefully at Mary, standing up and gathering his books, ‘I’m gonna head to my room - we got a long reading today, and Ms Stacey wants me to get my head around binomial quadratic equations by next week.’ He walked towards his room, glad the conversation had steered away from his love life, or at least what Bash considered to be just that. He was at the doorway when Bash called out, ‘Better finish that reading quick, I’ve heard Anne Shirley Cuthbert is a formidable reader, and topping English!’ Gilbert gave Bash a teasing glare before leaving. He really needed to figure out those equations.

Mary gave Bash an accusing stare when Gilbert left the room. He laughed, ‘I know I shouldn’t meddle, but you should see his face, he’s so adamant about it - but truth is I know, and he knows, he just is scared that admitting it’ll make it true. He’ll realise when he’s ready.’

Gilbert stared at his slate without seeing it, lost in thought. He sighed, bringing himself out of his own head. His gaze strayed from his open Mathematics textbook to his English book, lying on his bedside table. He grasped it and opened up to page 217. He had better start the reading.

Mary moved to sit next to Bash, seating herself where Gilbert had been a few minutes ago. She rested her head on Sebastian’s shoulder and laughed to herself a little, recalling how nervous Gilbert had been during the conversation.

‘He is so gone over her,’ she said.  


	2. In which Ms Stacey comes to an Amusing and Not Unpleasant Conclusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anne begins morning classes with Gilbert and Ms Stacey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who left lovely comments and feedback on the last chapter! I'm still trying to improve my writing, so please continue to leave critiques! hope you enjoy this installment.

Ms Stacey watched Anne’s slight figure make its way determinedly to the boy working in the front of the classroom. 

‘I hope you weren’t _eavesdropping_ ,’ she said, arms crossed and tone passive-aggressive.

Gilbert looked up sharply, a frustrated expression suddenly etched across his face as he defensively said, ‘I’m trying to study!’

‘Well, I’ll need Ms Stacey to help me with my vocation soon too,’ snapped Anne, her eyes almost as fiery as her hair. Ms Stacey knew well the evils of eavesdropping but how could she not overhear their dramatic discourse when they were so close, and she so near, and besides, she was admittedly a little curious about the way the two most enthusiastic students in her class interacted with each other. 

A quick pause, a sarcastic tilting of the dark curly head and an annoyed quirk to the mouth, then, ‘How is your vocation mine?’ he asked sardonically.

‘It’s not,’ the redhead shot back. ‘So _sorry_ to interrupt,’ her voice dripped with sarcasm. Ms Stacey began to wonder if she would need to interfere - the conversation seemed to be getting quite heated.

‘Please, carry on with your _goals_ ,’ finished Anne with a proud toss of her auburn braids, a swift look of disgust and a cold exit. Gilbert watched her stalk off for just a second, before shaking his head and burying his face back into his Mathematics textbook. Ms Stacey gave a small inward sigh. She was beginning to feel that the rivalry between Gilbert and Anne was bordering on toxic at times, and that neither one of them would benefit from it. They could help each other so much, though, she mused.  

 

The weeks passed, and the winter slowly began to melt into spring. Ms Stacey  cycled to the schoolhouse early one morning, her bicycle rattling along the worn down dusty paths, a wind that hinted at spring playing with the flowers by the side of the road. She ordered the books and various objects on her desk as she waited for her two brightest students to arrive. She had been _very_ punctual today. The school door opened, bringing with it a fresh breeze. Gilbert held the door open for Anne to walk through. She gave him a quick nod of thanks and he followed in after her. 

‘Good morning, Gilbert, Anne,’ Ms Stacey said, standing up to greet them. 

‘Good morning, Ms Stacey,’ they chorused back, hanging up their jackets in the cloakroom. She made her way over to them. 

‘Thank you for coming early today, Anne. I would like to propose something, but it is your decision whether to accept it. Anne, you’ve told me about your aspirations to be a teacher, which, by the way, I believe is a wonderful choice of vocation.’ Ms Stacey grinned, then continued, ‘In light of this, combined with your very apparent love for your studies and excellent results in class, I’ve decided that it would be beneficial for you - both of you - that you join Gilbert in his morning classes and extra studies. Of course this is entirely up to you.’ 

‘Ms Stacey,’ Anne breathed. ‘I gratefully accept this _thrilling_ offer, why, I feel so _deeply_ honoured, I will _not_ let you down - I will be the most conscientious, hardworking and dedicated student I can be and I solemnly swear not to waste this incredible opportunity,’ she said, her bright eyes wide and serious. 

Gilbert looked down at his feet, a small smile tugging at his mouth. Trust Anne Shirley Cuthbert to turn any spoken response into a wonderfully worded acceptance speech. 

‘Lovely,’ smiled Ms Stacey, looking pleased. Her face grew grave as she continued, ‘However, I have noticed some tension between you two stemming from your academic rivalry-‘

Anne stepped forward quickly, ‘Oh, Ms Stacey, that will _not_ be an issue. I have resolved to be less obnoxious in class, especially towards Gilbert. Although our classroom competitiveness will continue, it will merely be a source of motivation to us, an encouragement, fuelling our academic ambitions, pushing us to dream bigger and better things, and birthed from a seed of pure friendship and mutual respect rather than animosity and malice.’ She paused for a moment, eyes alight. Sometimes, Gilbert thought, it was like she could see the words she was saying come alive, painting new worlds with her very voice. 

Gilbert nodded, ‘We’ve come to - an understanding.’ 

In this moment, Ms Stacey smiled a little at the difference in their addresses - Anne with her delightfully descriptive but long winded monologues, eyes bright with her dreams, and Gilbert’s succinct and direct explanations, his hazel eyes just as alive. Ms Stacey’s face softened as she observed the boy and girl before her, so contrasting in their appearances and mannerisms, yet so similar in their hopes and hurts. ‘Well in that case,’ she said finally, ‘We’d best begin.’ 

Forty five minutes and nine geometry questions later, Anne groaned, though not audibly. Although she and Gilbert were friends now, she still felt mortified knowing she couldn’t work out something that he seemed to understand so easily. To her annoyance, he apparently still noticed that she was struggling, though perhaps the fact that she was rubbing out the working on her slate every few seconds (and more aggressively every time) was not helping her look confident at using the cosine rule. Anne could feel his gaze on her as she scribbled out the question for the third time, and out of the corner of her eye saw him move closer to her and raise a dark eyebrow. 

‘I don’t need your help, Blythe,’ she said shortly, not looking up. 

‘Okay,’ he said, averting his eyes back to his own slate. Anne noted that he was on question fifteen. She looked back at question nine. 

‘The cosine rule is used when you’re given two sides and an angle, or just three sides and want to find an angle. Not that you need my help or anything,’ Gilbert said. She didn’t need to look at him to know that he had that smug smile plastered on his smug face. 

‘You know, Anne,’ Ms Stacey’s kind voice cut through Anne’s thoughts. ‘If you don’t understand something you can just ask me - I am here to teach you after all!’ She laughed. ‘But also, don’t be afraid to take explanations about geometry from Gilbert, he’s been studying it in the mornings with me for longer so he has a fuller understanding than you _at_ _the moment_.’ Here, Anne glanced at Gilbert, and although he was looking intently at his work, and although his smile was small, it was as smug as ever, a silent, _‘ha.’_ And Anne could hear it clear as day.

‘Besides,’ continued Ms Stacey, ‘I am sure you could give him some helpful critiques on his essays.’ At this Gilbert did look up at Ms Stacey, but the fleeting glance he took in Anne’s direction was enough to see her smirk. 

‘Well,’ he said, ‘If you assigned us a new essay, we’d be able to have the same amount of time to work on them, and then give each other feedback before handing them in to you.’ 

‘I believe that would be very helpful to you both,’ Ms Stacey agreed. 

‘I don’t mind having to write an extra essay if it means I can beat you fair and square Anne Shirley Cuthbert,’ Gilbert teased. 

‘Sounds great to me, though I fear you may lose a little of your self confidence after reading my essay and recognising its evident superiority to yours, Gilbert Blythe - that is, if anything could so much as touch your ego,’ she retorted, smiling. 

 

The morning classes continued and Ms Stacey couldn’t help but notice certain things. Of course, they were both doing brilliantly - they bounced ideas off of each other, and gave helpful criticisms and positive encouragement. But other things, too. Like the way Anne would act so indignant when Diana would suggest something about her and Gilbert. Or the way that, even when they were making fun of each other, their admiration for the other person, intellectually and personality-wise, seemed so evident. And every now and then she would catch Gilbert staring at the auburn-crowned dreamer, his face and eyes lit with a soft warmth. Of course, Ms Stacey would never confront the two of them about the things she noticed. They were just small things, and she was a strong believer in letting people figure things out for themselves. But she couldn’t help but smile to herself a little whenever she heard Anne say to Diana ‘you’re not funny’ when she commented about a certain boy, or saw the way Gilbert flushed when Sebastian joked about ‘lady troubles.’ 

They would figure it out themselves. Eventually. 


End file.
